JMG, that wasn't "Guildo Loves You", by any chance? That was sheer genius. "Nut biscuits and ice cream!"

As for the repeated booing of Lithuania, let me explain: their entry was the one that consisted of nothing but these lyrics: "We are the winners of Eurovision. Vote for us!" Not going to go down very well with the home audience, and you obviously don't really care about winning if you devise a song like that.

The best part is always the results, not just for the blatant tactical voting but also the painful awkwardness of satellite delay and bad communication. I loved the Polish presenter's jokey announcement of 12 points to Poland, which was treated rather too seriously by the Greek presenters who instantly declared "You know that is not possible" before he had a chance to say "Just kidding!" Weren't those two a desperate pair? By the end the man in the shiny suit looked thoroughly fed up with the whole thing.

Of all the countries I think the Dutch treated the voting best, the bald, middle-aged guy announcing the vote there seemed to be some kind of darts player standing in a rowdy pub. I kept expecting him to declare, "One hundred and eeeiiiighhhhttttyyyy points to country X!" at any moment.

__________________The Wit and Wisdom of the Tennis Journalist, Indian Wells 2004

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I remember this one time when I went on a vacation on the Maldives. That was in the year 2001, I think. I went to this spa. I went to walk around with my girlfriend. I walk in, and we want to book a spa. This guy goes, "AHH, I remember you. You beat Sampras. I saw you on TV." That was like, really, how can you remember me? This guy has probably never been off his island and still knows me. I was a little bit shocked. Then I went to play tennis with him because he was actually the tennis teacher. It was nice.

How horror rock conquered Europe
Finnish metal band Lordi, who dress in monster masks and outlandish fantasy costumes, have taken the Eurovision Song Contest by storm.

Lordi were a controversial choice for Eurovision
They would not look out of place in a Lord of the Rings film, their lead singer describes himself as "the hulk of hell" and they sing about "the arockalypse" and "the day of rockoning".

And now Lordi have joined the likes of Abba, Bucks Fizz, Dana and Celine Dion on the elite list of Eurovision winners.

This hard rock band were already successful in their home country, but have now become a phenomenon in Europe.

That is partly thanks to their gloriously over-the-top theatrics and stadium rock anthems.

But they may also have captured the imaginations of those who wanted to register a protest vote against Eurovision's normal diet of plastic pop.

Their fearsome appearance and religious references led to some protests in Finland and host country Greece before this year's contest.

Lordi say they will never remove their masks

Father Mitro Repo, an Orthodox Christian clergyman in Helsinki, described the band's use of the name "Lordi" as "sacrilege".

And a group of Greek protesters known as the Hellenes called on the Finnish government to intervene.

"We ask the Finnish Commission of the Eurovision Song Contest to cancel the procedure and choose another song," they said. "This evil and satanic Finnish band is not welcome in Greece."

But Lordi's lead singer, also known as Lordi, brushed aside the complaints, insisting: "We have nothing to do with satan worshipping or anything like that - this is entertainment."

Real name Tomi Putaansuu, the singer hails from Arctic Lapland and says his band's masked personas are just characters.

"The guys behind the masks are not interesting - they walk the dogs," he said.

The band have become Finland's first Eurovision winners

But the characters "live on stage and they live in a fantasy world", he said. "This element of mystery is one of the cornerstones of Lordi."

Now 32, Putaansuu started drawing monster designs on his face with his mother's make-up at the age of seven and was making horror films with his parents' video camera three years later.

He graduated from film school and earned a living drawing storyboards, forming Lordi in 1992.

They spent the first 10 years trying to get a record deal but their debut album Get Heavy went platinum in their home country in 2002 and their "greatest hits" compilation has been released in 20 countries.

Springboard

They thought the Finnish Eurovision board had made a mistake when they approached the band to take part in the contest while they were recording their third album.

But Lordi agreed and won 42% of the vote in the national competition to pick Finland's entry.

There were fears that they could flop and prove a laughing stock - but they have now become the country's first Eurovision winners.

And now with a newfound global fan base, they could use their Eurovision success as a springboard to the next level of rock stardom.

__________________“ On Nadal bumping him on the changeover, Rosol said: "It's ok, he wanted to take my concentration; I knew he would try something".

Wilander on Dimitrov - "He has mind set on imitating Federer and yes it looks good. But he has no idea what to do on the court".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Filo V.

I definitely would have preferred Gaba winning as he needs the points much more, but Jan would have beaten him anyway. I expect Hajek to destroy Machado, like 6-1 6-2.

Next year we should nominate some comedy song again, they finish at least top 10.

I'm very sure Germany is never going to win another ESC again in the future. The taste in music is too different compared to the rest of Europe. I don't know why, but the German music industry isn't able to produce a decent song for the ESC. I still remember the times when we had great songs performed by superb artists in the contest, e.g. Katja Ebstein. Maybe it's time for another comedy song. Stefan Raab already said that he would like to give it another try. One thing is for sure: I'm happy as long as I don't have to read that Ralph Siegel is going to write our song for next year.

It was Finland, followed by Russia and Bosnia-Herzegovina. Good showing for your side, Ducky.

__________________The Wit and Wisdom of the Tennis Journalist, Indian Wells 2004

ROGER FEDERER: Yeah, I remember this one time when I went on a vacation on the Maldives. That was in the year 2001, I think. I went to this spa. I went to walk around with my girlfriend. I walk in, and we want to book a spa. This guy goes, "AHH, I remember you. You beat Sampras. I saw you on TV." That was like, really, how can you remember me? This guy has probably never been off his island and still knows me. I was a little bit shocked. Then I went to play tennis with him because he was actually the tennis teacher. It was nice.